


Operation Mistletoe

by AlderaanianPrincess (darthnoire), darthnoire



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bad Parenting, Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, F/M, Fluff, Gabriel Agreste - Freeform, Good Parents Sabine Cheng & Tom Dupain, I have no self-control, I'll add more tags as i upload the chapters, It started as a oneshot and developed into a ficlet, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Marichat Focused, No Smut, Starvation, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Warning: Mentions of dieting, adrienette - Freeform, christmas ficlet, ladrien, love square, they're 18 years old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:33:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28137738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darthnoire/pseuds/AlderaanianPrincess, https://archiveofourown.org/users/darthnoire/pseuds/darthnoire
Summary: Chat Noir never really shared some of the joys of Christmas and everything that it entails. The three Dupain-Chengs are here to change that. Even if they have to come up with excuses and plans to do so.Unbeknowst to Chat Noir and Marinette as well, that is not the only plan Tom and Sabine come up with.After months of seeing the hero and their daughter pining for each other, they set a plan into motion to get them together. That's right! Operation Mistletoe.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 64
Kudos: 174
Collections: ScribeSmith's Fanfic Library





	1. Secrets and Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: there are mentions of dieting and starvation in the first chapter, as well as some neglect (result of A+ Parenting from none other than Gabriel Agreste /s)
> 
> Hey! Here is the first chapter of the promised Christmas fic. As you can see, much like The Butterfly Effect it turned into a ficlet. I just can't stop the words from flowing sometimes.  
> Anyway...  
> This is a very soft paced, fluffy piece. It's just meant to be a cute Christmas story. Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments
> 
> Find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/darthnoire) or [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/darthnoire)

Friday dinners at the Dupain-Chengs had become a tradition. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint when they had garnered that honour, because it sort of just happened but it certainly was his favourite part of the week. It was something he was always looking forward to.

It all began as a one time thing, and then it just turned into a recurring event, until one day they realised that without them trying or planning, they had created a ritual of their own.

This wasn’t to say that they hadn’t had an adjustment period before that. Tom had been wary of Chat Noir for a while. Not that the man disliked him, quite the opposite, they got along well, and he was kind, warm, and welcoming, and so appreciative of all the work Chat did as a hero, but Tom was still worried for his daughter. He couldn’t really blame the man, not really. Not after having broken his daughter’s heart all those years ago, and sneaked into her room for months later on. But things eventually changed. For the better.

If he had to be honest, the way both Marinette and Chat Noir went about their meetings probably hadn’t been the best, but when the two of them were together, they weren’t exactly known for making wise decisions.

It all began when Chat Noir visited Marinette after an akuma attack, to make sure she was safe and unharmed. She joined him on the balcony, where for some reason he had stayed, and they talked and talked for hours under the moonlight and the stars, until the sun peaked in the horizon, breaking the spell they had been under and making the two of them realise Chat Noir should most definitely go home. They departed, but he left with a promise of returning. And return he did. Almost every week, on the same night, month after month for almost a year. 

They had never really thought of keeping their rendezvous a secret, they just became this unspoken thing, like an agreement between the two of them, because deep down they knew what they were doing was dangerous. These meetings could have a lot of consequences - most of them disastrous - his father could find out he wasn’t in his room, Hawkmoth catch them and use the two young people to get what he wanted, or even Marinette’s parents could find out.

As all good things, their secret meetings eventually came to an end. Marinette’s parents found out, which, in retrospective, was the best outcome they could have hoped for. Yet, they would be lying if they said things had gone well. Things had, in fact, not gone well. Marinette’s parents weren’t pleased that she had lied to them, especially about having a superhero in her bedroom. A superhero who had broken Marinette’s heart. So he was forbidden from visiting for a few months and Marinette had been grounded.

The two of them didn’t want to break the rules, but they also didn’t want to stop talking. They didn’t want their friendship to end. So they found a system to keep in touch - they wrote letters to each other. 

Chat still slightly hated himself for it, but one day after a patrol, he gathered enough courage to ask Ladybug if she would mind delivering his letters to Marinette. He would never forget the look of surprise on her face, but she didn’t say no. Ladybug took his letter promising to deliver it, and she was true to her word, because the next time they met, she handed him a letter from Marinette. 

And so the two of them kept in touch.

They were friends, that was all that was about, or at least that was how the whole thing had started. But Chat Noir really should’ve known that was a lie from the very beginning. He should’ve known that was a lie when he would spot Ladybug jumping across the rooftops to meet him and he found himself hoping she would be carrying a letter from Marinette. He should’ve known it was a lie when he started missing Marinette like a physical pain, and his mind wandered to her of its own accord. He should’ve known it was a lie when she finally wrote him back saying she was no longer grounded, and her parents allowed him to visit again, and all he could feel was warmth spreading in chest and a wide smile gracing his lips.

Chat was invited over so the four of them could talk. They set rules - no more secrets, no more hiding. They both promised Tom and Sabine they wouldn’t lie or hide again.

Chat Noir and Marinette started meeting again once a week. They would watch a film, they would play video-games, he would keep her company on occasion when she had homework to do, or was working on a fashion project. He would offer his help or input whenever needed, or simply be a shoulder to cry on when it all became too much. He supported her, just as she supported him when he had had a particular bad fight with his father, or he was exhausted and overrun from all the work and dieting he had to do for his modelling. He never told her the reason for his tiredness and sadness. Marinette could always tell there was something wrong with him, but she never insisted when he simply shook his head and curled into a ball against her body. The young woman would pet his hair and his cat ears until he calmed down, his tail wrapping around her for extra comfort without him even realising. 

The hero shouldn’t tell Marinette about his civilian life, it was too risky, but all of his determination to keep his life a secret, simply crumbled away when one day he showed up, eyes puffy and rimmed red and she welcomed him with open arms and let him cry until he had no more tears left to shed. 

The truth came spilling out of him before he could stop himself. Chat told her about his job and about his relationship with his father and how he sometimes had to starve himself. When he was done, he had looked up to her in horror at what he had just confessed, thinking she would be shocked, having figured out who he was, or that she would eye him with pity. That was not what happened at all. Instead, he was met with a furious expression. She was so, so angry and he couldn’t understand why, until she whispered, “I don’t like your father. He shouldn’t treat you like that. You deserve better. So much better.”

He blinked up at her, mouth agape. No one had ever said that about his father, probably because he was a fashion icon and people were either scared of him, or they wanted his favour. But Marinette didn’t know who exactly his father was. If she did, maybe she wouldn’t react the way she had.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. He’s your father.” She must’ve mistaken his expression of awe for something else.

“No-no, I- I was just shocked. No one has ever stood up for me. Not against him.”

Her eyes bore into his with determination after he uttered those words, “Well, now you’ve got me. And I will always stand against him for you.”

It was in that moment, as he looked deeply into her blue ocean eyes, her freckled cheeks, and plump pink lips that he realised he was utterly screwed. 

It was such an intense feeling, like a pang to his heart that was so achingly familiar he wasn’t even sure how he hadn’t realised it before. But he had fallen. He had fallen hard.

Later that same week, Ladybug handed him a letter from Marinette saying her parents had invited him over for dinner. He had had to turn his back to her partner as tears of joy threatened to spill down his cheeks.

Dinner had been a warm affair, with Sabine fussing over him, and pilling his plate to the point where he was scared he might spill it everywhere. As for Tom, the man taught him a lot of puns related to baking, much to his daughter’s dismay. And Marinette… Ah… Marinette would set his whole body and heart on fire every time she smiled his way.

As they finished their meal, he realised how much he loved this family, how he hoped he could be part of their little bubble, and so he decided it was best to keep his feelings under wraps, because the last thing he wanted to do was to make matters complicated once again. Because he had no right to feel the way he did about Marinette. Not after having rejected her in front of her parents, even if it had been a couple of years ago.

He thought about confessing as Adrien, but in his mind it was as if he would be lying. He felt as if he would be taking advantage of her and her friendship she had with Chat Noir. No. He wouldn’t confess to her as Adrien, which made his final years in high school quite difficult, as he pined for her in secret. They became closer friends, but their friendship as Adrien and Marinette wasn’t the same as it was with his superhero alter-ego.

Every Friday, unless he was away because of his job, or already had previous commitments, he would join the Dupain-Chengs for dinner, where he felt loved, wanted, and welcome. Where he would sit at a small table, full of good food and surrounded by company, unlike at his house, where the table was long, and empty, and so very lonely. 

And the tradition of Friday dinners was created and maintained until almost a year later. His feelings for Marinette stayed the same, and he still buried them deep within him, with little to no chance of them ever seeing the light of day.

Or so he thought.

It was at the Dupain-Chengs’ he found himself at that moment. 

Dinner was delicious as usual, and he ate with gusto. He was the last one to finish eating, stuffing the last piece in his mouth and revelling in the flavour of the home-cooked meal. He knew he couldn’t complain when he had a personal chef at home, but there was simply something different about Sabine’s hearty meals and Tom’s sweet desserts. 

Tom and Sabine were the first ones to rise from the table, taking with them the glasses and plates, leaving the rest for the two young people to clear, as they started doing the dishes in the kitchen. Marinette and Chat Noir worked effortlessly around each other, used to the routine.

They were on their second trip to the dining room, after having left a pile of dirty dishes on the kitchen counter when Tom shouted through the room, “Son, next week dinner will have to be slightly different. In fact there won’t be a dinner.”

“Oh, that’s fine.” Chat replied cheerily as he and Marinette returned to the kitchen, after having finally cleared the whole table.

“We’re decorating the house for Christmas, and we make a whole day of it. We don’t usually have dinner, because we spend the day snacking and eating sweets and other seasonal treats”, Sabine explained. 

Chat’s heart squeezed in his chest. He had never done anything of the sort with his family, not even when his mother had been alive. He felt his throat constrict, and his eyes welling up with tears, which prevented him from saying anything. He settled for nodding as he binned the napkins, and willed the terrible emotions down.

Marinette must’ve noticed the change in his mood, because she approached him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

As they gazed into each other’s eyes he realised he was being selfish. Tom and Sabine weren’t his family, they were Marinette’s and he shouldn’t be upset they wanted to spend time together and do family activities together. He should be happy for them. They deserved happiness and he wasn’t part of the family, he couldn’t impose himself on such an important event for them.

“We’ll postpone the dinner then”, He forced himself to say.

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

He removed himself from her touch and for some reason that action hurt her. 

It wasn’t hard to tell when Chat was upset. Not when his cat ears were flat on his head, and his tail dragged on the floor. From his expression, he hadn’t realised her parents had intended to include him in the plans. Them mentioning it was their attempt at an invitation, but Marinette knew Chat Noir would never want to impose. Years of knowing him had allowed her to be able to read him like an open book. They shared everything. Or almost everything, apart from secret identities. And perhaps also the way she really felt about her partner. She couldn’t exactly confess that she loved him - that somewhere along the way she had fallen helplessly in love with him.

But that was neither here nor there. She had other more pressing matters to worry about.

Marinette noticed the way he reacted when her parents mentioned their Christmas decorating day. From the bits and pieces she had picked up from his life at home he had probably never experienced such a day. He had probably never even put up a Christmas tree with his family. 

She felt her heart break for him once more, just as it did when he had confessed all those months ago that his father forced him on a diet and barely even acknowledged his son unless he needed something from him. It made her blood boil every time she thought about it and she wished she knew who this man was so she could pay him a visit as Ladybug.

Chat sat at one of the tall chairs in the kitchen, looking at his claws. 

“I just remembered that we stored the Christmas tree and the boxes of decorations in the loft last year and they’re quite heavy, especially after you having injured your back carrying all those bags of flour”, Sabine commented as she casually sent her daughter a look, when she turned to put the glass away in the cupboard. 

The young woman smirked knowingly as she slowly made her way to the hero and sat next to him. She knew what her parents were doing and she was most definitely on board. If they invited Chat now he would think they just felt sorry for him and were doing so out of pity, which was as far from the truth as possible, but that’s how the young man would see it.

“Mama’s right, Papa. You really shouldn’t carry all that weight.”

“I’ll be fi-” Marinette noticed the way Sabine stepped on her husband’s foot and had to suppress her laugh. Her father sent her a look before he carried on his sentence “Well, you can’t reach the high shelves, so I’ll have to.”

“Unless someone could help us.” Marinette casually stated as she rested her chin on her hand, looking at Chat from the corner of her eye, gauging for his reaction, to see if he had finally caught up. She knew he had when his ears moved from being pressed against his hair to being perked to the front.

“Well… I’m free next Friday if you really need the help. I can reach and carry the boxes if it helps.”

“That’s decided then!” Marinette said cheerily before he could back down. “You’re coming over next week to help us out.”

She smiled up at him just as he turned to face her, her heart palpitated erratically in her chest because whenever he smiled, when he truly smiled he was breathtakingly beautiful. And not when he smiled with his fake model-like grin that was so similar to Adrien’s and she knew all too well hid pain and sadness. No, she loved it when his eyes would crinkle and shine as bright as the biggest star in the galaxy, as his mouth split in a warm smile. That’s when she knew he was truly happy.

Marinette felt her cheeks heat up under his gaze and she had to force herself to look away. The last thing she wanted was for him to realise her true feelings for him.

What Marinette didn’t notice was that the young man’s cheeks matched hers in colour, and there was as much longing in his eyes as there were in hers.

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

And what neither of the two noticed was that Tom and Sabine shared a knowing look and cunning smiles.

They weren’t oblivious.

They knew the two young people had fallen for each other, but were too scared to admit it. It was time the Dupain-Chengs took matters into their own hands. They had a plan.

The perfect plan - Operation Mistletoe.


	2. A spoonful of decorating with a dash of competitiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“You’re so on, Princess! What are we competing for?"_
> 
> _She rolled her eyes at the nickname._
> 
> _“Does it matter?” Marinette shrugged._
> 
> _“Not really, I guess. You’re staring at the future champion either way.” ___
> 
> These two can't do anything without turning it into a competition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bring you chapter 2 beta'd by the amazing @cherrybomb_marichat, thank you so much for doing this for me 🥰  
> we're both part of an amazing community on [Miraculous Fanworks Discourse](https://discord.gg/5QYQHWpK) I felt so welcome and I couldn't be happier I found it
> 
> I hope you enjoy this one, let me know what you think in comments or reach out to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/darthnoire) you know the drill

Chat walked down the stairs with the last box. They were indeed heavy, and Tom would have struggled to carry them with his bad back. He was happy he could help. And so far things were going great.

The house smelled of sweets and hot cocoa and Christmas music played in the background. Even though there were still three weeks left until Christmas, Chat thought that the whole house felt just like the holiday. Or at least what Chat thought it should look like. He had never really experienced such a thing in his house. 

As he reached the living room he realised Marinette and her father were taking the Christmas tree out of its carton box.

“Oh, there you are, son! Just in time to help us put the tree up. Sabine needs some help in the kitchen, so you and Marinette will have to set up the tree by yourselves. Is that alright?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll do anything you need me to.”

He set the box of decorations next to all the others ones and then made his way over to Marinette. 

The tree was bigger than he initially thought and it was no wonder they had wanted help with it.

“Can you hold the middle while I place the foot of the tree in the right position?” Marinette asked him.

“On it.” He didn’t need to be told twice, he grabbed the heavy object from Marinette’s hands and aligned it with the feet she held, the two pieces easily slotted together and she screwed the pieces in to secure it. As soon as that was done, the two of them managed to set the tree upright. Chat grabbed the top of the tree, since it was too high up for Marinette to reach it and slid it on, finally giving shape to the centre of the tree. The two of them stared at it for a while before reaching for the branches that were still in the box.

They worked as a team, the two of them picking up the branches by their colour codes and setting them in neat piles in order - from the biggest ones to the smallest ones so they could easily work from bottom to top. But what had started as a team effort slowly turned into a competition. 

“How long does it usually take you to set up the tree?” Chat asked casually.

Marinette shrugged her shoulders, “It depends. Papa usually put me in charge of colour codes and he was the one to actually add the branches to the trunk.

“I see…”

“What does that mean?” Marinette asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh nothing. I finally realised why your parents asked me to come over. They were scared you wouldn’t be able to put this tree up by yourself considering all you ever did was colour supervision.” He sent her devilish smile as he fit the first branch in the trunk. 

“Excuse you?!”

He smiled more broadly as he heard her affronted tone, “I’m just saying… I’m probably better at this than you. I am a-meow-zing after all.”

She scoffed in outrage at both his pun and his comment, “We shall see then, kitty-cat. You against me. Whoever finishes setting up their side first wins.”

“You’re so on, Princess! What are we competing for?”

She rolled her eyes at the nickname.

“Does it matter?” Marinette shrugged.

“Not really, I guess. You’re staring at the future champion either way.”

They split the branches into two, still keeping them in their assigned piles so they knew what order they should go in. 

Once that was done, they both stepped away to give each other the same chance. They stared at one another as if they were in a midwest.

Chat wiggled his claws as he slightly crouched, getting himself into position. Marinette cracked her knuckles and sent him a mischievous wink, that he hated to admit had managed to throw him off.

He found himself gulping involuntarily. Perhaps this had been a bad idea after all…

He snapped himself out of it cracking his neck as readied himself.

“Ready… Set… Go!” They said in unison before they launched themselves over the branches and the tree, fitting one branch after the other. 

Marinette finished the bottom line before he did, because he had failed to notice he had jumped a hole. He quickly recovered and caught up with her once more, but she was still too fast. He had clearly misjudged her. In all honesty, this was the first time he was setting up a tree, so really he had only set himself up for failure. Nevertheless, he still wanted to win.

The young woman moved up to the third row before he could finish the second. That wouldn’t do at all. So he stole some of her branches and threw them under the couch.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” She screamed at him before dashing after the green plastic branches.

“We never set any rules. We only said the person who finished first would win.” Chat replied over a fit of maniac giggles as he still slotted the branches into the main piece, as Marinette struggled to get hers back.

As she returned he grabbed another one of hers and hung it from his belt. But she was quicker and reached for one his instead. He released an angry yowl. That was not part of the plan!

He worked faster, he was still ahead anyway after his little stunt. He rushed for the last branch so fast he practically tripped over the carpet. He recovered with cat’s grace and slammed it into the tree so hard he practically knocked the whole thing down, and himself in the process.

Marinette had stopped her work just to laugh at him. She laughed so hard she fell backwards, hitting her head on the sofa. 

A loud thunk echoed around the room.

Chat rushed to her side in an instant, worry marring his features. 

“Are you alright?”

Marinette was rubbing the spot on her head as she still laughed, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. Chat wasn’t sure if the tears were due to her fit of laughter or if they were of pain.

He bent down, clawed hands hovering over her, unsure if he should touch her or not. Before he could make a decision, Marinette, quick as a whip, snatched his belt and grabbed the branch that he had placed there.

He barely even had time to register what had happened until she forcefully placed a hand on his chest and flipped them around so she stood over him, a hand and a leg on either side of him, and a wide grin gracing her lips as she stared down at him. 

Her long midnight hair fell over them, encasing them in a world that belonged only to them. His hands flew to her waist out of their own accord, and for a moment he thought she would flinch away, or remove herself completely from his touch. But she didn’t. If anything she seemed to welcome his touch by the way she slightly gasped. His heart somersaulted in his chest at the implication.

Their breaths mingled, and his chest constricted. He could only stare at her - at her perfect pink lips, her gorgeous blue eyes, and her adorable freckles. 

They were so close. So very close. It was heartbreakingly intoxicating. He could feel his resolve crumble around him. He had promised he would never tell her how he felt, but in that moment he could taste the words forming in his mouth. He could almost hear himself saying them.

It was an effort to keep his mouth shut.

“Hey kiddos, how’s the tree going?” The booming voice travelled from the kitchen to the living room, and the two young people scrambled away from each other as fast as they could.

The moment completely shattered around them.

“Y-yeah. Getting there, dad.” Marinette answered as a blush covered her cheeks. She turned her back to Chat, focusing her attention on the tree and the branch she still held in her hand. The branch she had stolen from him. She grabbed the remaining ones from the floor and completed the tree.

Chat got up from the floor and cleared his throat awkwardly, “I guess now we should fan the branches out.”

Marinette hummed and set to work. He followed her lead, with no competition this time.

Once they finished their work, the tension that had settled over them long gone, they stepped back and admired their work. The green tree was fluffy with no gaps. It looked ready to be decorated.

Chat uncrossed his arms so he could point at the tree with his claws, “Should we start on the decorations?”

“No, mama will want to pick them and place them, so there’s no point in us doing it. She will just re-do anything we do.”

“I heard that.” Her mother shouted from the kitchen.

“Good! I wasn’t trying to whisper it,” Marinette shouted back.

Chat chuckled at the exchange. Their relationship was so easy and warm, so unlike his own with his father. 

“So what should we?” He asked, trying to keep his mind from wandering down a dark path.

“We decorate the rest of the house. Grab that one.” Marinette pointed with her chin to the box closest to him as she grabbed another one.

The two of them made their way to the main corridor and started laying the strings of lights and baubles in a golden and red arrangement as they sang along to the Christmas music that still played in the background. They would take turns in their singing, and join in certain songs. Sometimes they would let themselves get carried away, and they danced as they sang, momentarily forgetting their job at decorating. But it didn’t matter. They had all the time in the world.

He couldn’t remember having had such fun ever. Who knew decorating could be so fun? 

They worked smoothly even if they sang, especially since they were trying to put the moment they had shared in the living room as far behind them as possible.

When they finished the corridor, Marinette turned off the main lights, plunging the room into darkness, which finally made Chat realise how early the sun set in the winter.

His feline eyes adjusted quickly to the change of light just as Marinette plugged the fairy lights in, making the room glow in a soft sunset yellow.

“C’mon we’ve got a couple more rooms.” Marinette beckoned him to follow. He hadn’t even realised he had spaced out. He had been staring at her bathed in the soft ember light. What was wrong with him? Could he not stop his brain from thinking about her for a single second?

He grabbed his box and followed her into the next room. They made their way through all the divisions in less than an hour, which he thought was impressive. As they worked, the smell of warm food wafted through the house, enveloping in the promise of wonderful snacks after they were done.

Once they were finished, they got rid of the boxes. Chat put them back up in attic as Marinette grabbed the rest of them from the living room, saying her mom was done with decorating the tree. 

As soon as they put the boxes away, they made their way to the living room where both her parents awaited them with cups of hot cocoa, chocolate chip cookies, ginger, and cinnamon biscuits. 

Marinette crossed the threshold first with Chat right behind her. She stopped abruptly when her parents pointed somewhere above her. Once she did, her body tensed up at whatever she saw. Chat followed the movement and he finally realised what it was.

Mistletoe. Oh no.

She looked at him with an expression of panic and he never felt so bad in his entire life. Her parents seemed to have planned the whole thing, which made matters even more confusing. He thought her parents hated him from having broken her heart. And he was pretty sure she had gotten over her little infatuation with him years ago. From what he knew she had had a crush on someone in their class and then she had dated Luka, and now she was single and in the first year of University with plenty of suitors after her, if some of the texts she had shown him before were any indication. She had asked him for advice on how to turn them down gently. He couldn’t blame any of them for their feelings, she was after all a stunning, and brilliant woman, but he could certainly hate them all slightly. 

As far as he knew Marinette wasn’t interested in anyone in that way at the moment, unless she had kept from him one of the messages she had received asking her on date, and had accepted. If she had, whoever that person was, they were the luckiest individual is the whole world, which made the situation at hand even worse.

He had to do something to fix the situation, so he put on his usual Chat Noir charm.

He smiled widely at her and bent at the waist, grabbing one of her hands in one of his gloved ones and brought her knuckles to his lips, leaving a soft kiss on them. He could hear the way she gasped as his lips made contact with her skin. She was probably releasing a sigh of relief. That thought slightly broke his heart.

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

In that moment Marinette could say she slightly, slightly hated her parents. They never cared for mistletoe! They only did it when her grandmother was over, because she insisted on doing so, after having spent a Christmas in the US and having absolutely loved the idea. It was only an excuse for her to get kisses from her family, not that they really needed an excuse anyway. They were French after all! They kissed each other ’s cheeks all the time.

But how could her parents have done this to them? To her? Their own daughter? Had she been that transparent with her feelings for the leather-clad hero? If the answer was yes, that was not a good sign. Not at all. Did it mean Chat had also figured out the way she felt about him and was hanging out with her out of pity? She was pretty sure that would most definitely break her.

Marinette also thought her parents didn’t really approve of him because of what had happened all those years ago, but if the situation at hand was anything to judge from, they seemed to have gotten over it.

When she finally realised she could kiss him on the cheek and get it over with, Chat Noir had already bent over his waist and took her hand in his.

Ever the gentleman.

He kissed it gently, and as the skin of lips made contact with her hand she felt an electric shock course through her body. She couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped her. Marinette could feel her skin heat up, and she was thankful she had her back turned to her parents. 

The moment was over too soon.

Chat straightened up and let go of her hand, offering her a small smile as if trying to comfort her. She offered one with return, but she wasn’t sure about how convincing it had actually looked. She felt like a fake as her lips stretched and her eyes crinkled. The only reprieve she had was knowing that apparently Chat didn’t notice her pained expression, because they walked into the living room together and joined her parents on the sofa without a hitch. Her parents were smiling broadly at the two young people as they offered them their mugs and a plate full of cookies and biscuits each. 

The rest of the evening was peaceful. They chatted, ate and drank hot beverages, and played some video games and even karaoke. In the middle of one of the songs, as Chat poured his heart out, her parents joined him and wrapped Chat in some tinsel they had left out. Marinette took pictures of the three of them and joined in for a few selfies. At one point the tinsel ended up wrapped around her as well and her mother took photos of her and Chat singing and striking silly poses. 

Marinette had never seen him look so happy as he did that day. She wished she could give him days like this every day - she wished she could make everyday feel like Christmas for him.

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

He kissed her hand…

They had to give it to Chat Noir, he had quick thinking. He wouldn’t be a hero if he didn’t after all. But that did not work in their favour in this specific situation.

It would appear getting the two young people together would take more work than they had initially thought.

Operation Mistletoe would have to move up a notch. However, they had to be smart about this. They couldn’t force it. No… This whole thing had to be carefully planned. So carefully planned.


	3. Wrapping should be reserved for gifts not feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Even you have to admit this is a hiss-terical situation,” Marinette commented through a fit of laughter._
> 
> _“Was that a pun?” His eyes lit up._
> 
> _“Purr-haps. Thought I should give you at least a win, seeing as you’ve got your hands tied. Litter-ally."_
> 
> _Two puns in a row? Wow, he must’ve really made a fool of himself if she felt the need to succumb to puns. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks to [@cherrybomb_marichat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrybomb_marichat/pseuds/cherrybomb_marichat) for beta reading this chapter for me
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/darthnoire) and [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/darthnoire)

It had been a week since Chat had been over at the Dupain-Chengs to decorate the house, and he had been over for his Friday dinner as usual. As the time approached, it seemed all everyone could talk about was Christmas and even though he knew for most people it was a happy and hopeful time, it wasn’t for him. He didn’t blame any of them. He couldn’t, but part of him broke every time when he was reminded of his own unhappiness. 

On Monday, his father had asked Adrien to see him in his office. Adrien had been apprehensive, scared he might’ve done something wrong, or even that his father was about to announce the addition of a new activity to his already packed timetable. Once he had heard his father’s deep voice allowing him to come in, he had opened the door carefully, trying his best to control his fidgeting - which he knew his father abhorred - as he walked towards the imposing oak desk.

He had stopped a foot away from it, watching his father finish reading whatever document was in front of him. He hadn’t been sure how long he had waited there, but Gabriel only lifted his eyes once he had reached the end of the page, turning it to the next one.

The cold man had slowly crossed his hands in front of him on the desk as he peered at Adrien.

“I just received word of a meeting and a very important event that is happening in Milan.”

Adrien had a feeling of what that entailed and why exactly his father had asked to see him. 

“I’ll be gone next week and I won’t be back for at least ten days. Nathalie is coming with me, but you’ll have your security guard.”

“I see.” His voice was small, and his fists were clenched as he tried to control the emotions bubbling inside of him. Deep down he wished he wouldn’t control them. He was tired of pretending. Tired of hiding how he truly felt.

“I don’t quite understand your reaction, Adrien. You know I have to travel frequently. And I have never gotten this behaviour before when I announced a trip.”

The young man scoffed as he glared at the man in front of him. Could he even call him father? He certainly didn’t act like one.

“Is there anything you wish to say?” His father enquired in a cold tone that clearly exhibited his displeasure at his son’s behaviour. 

“Nothing. You know where to find me if you need me in the meantime. I hope you enjoy your trip,” Adrien had bidden through gritted teeth as he had walked away and closed the door behind him forcefully.

That was how the week had begun. Not good. And that was perhaps an understatement. He could at least say things had improved. But then again, it was not hard for things to improve, when someone’s already at rock bottom - since the only way to go was up.

It was as if Marinette could magically tell when he needed her because later that week he had received a letter from her through Ladybug, asking him to come over for another evening, adding to their usual Friday meetings. He wasn’t sure what the occasion was, but he was more than happy to comply. It was another excuse for him to be away from his father and the empty and loveless mansion he had called home so many moons ago.

The letter put a smile on his face and even if he had tried to hide it from Ladybug, he would’ve failed miserably. 

“Good news?” Ladybug had asked him as she bounced on her feet.

He nodded stuffing the letter in his pocket with a smile still dancing on his lips.

“So, what’s the deal with Marinette? Do-do you like her?” The spotted hero asked as she looked at the floor and kicked a pebble, which ended up tumbling down the roof followed by clinks and clanks that echoed through the air.

He choked on air at the unexpected question, a blush spreading over his cheeks, “Ma-Marinette? Li-like?” He stuttered and he released a dry chuckle.

Was he that obvious? Could she see how much he really cared for Marinette in his eyes? Would it be awkward? Would it make things between the two heroes complicated? Certainly no more complicated than they already were, with Ladybug acting as their mailman. Mailwoman? Semantics…

His partner looked at him through furrowed eyebrows and nodded, clearly not understanding his reaction. He couldn’t blame her. He was acting pretty weird.

He looked down, studying the floor furiously, as he tried to hide from his partner the pink colour that he was sure still dotted his cheeks. Thank Kwamis for the black mask that covered half of his face.

“She’s just a friend.”

A moment passed before she replied in a whisper, “I see.”

Did he hear disappointment in her voice? That couldn’t be. It made no sense.

“Anyway,” Ladybug cleared her throat as she clasped her hands behind her back and then swung them to the front again, as if she didn’t quite know what to do with herself, “I should get going. I have a civilian life to get back to after all.”

She pointed in a general direction with her thumb and laughed loudly. It sounded hollow.

He waved goodbye, “I’ll see you around. Thank you for bringing the letter.”

“No problem, Chaton.” 

“Oh, tell Marinette I’ll be there if you see her.”

Ladybug nodded and made to leave, but she glanced behind once more, opening her mouth and closing it again, re-thinking whatever it was she was going to say.

“Just spill it, LB. C’mon, we’re partners. We can share everything.”

She pursed her lips, “You haven’t called me any nicknames in a while. No _M’lady_ … No _Bugaboo_ …”

Chat raised an eyebrow at that comment, surprise evident in his face. 

He knew he had stopped calling her those when he dated Kagami for a while, but after they broke he returned to the affectionate pet names. He supposed they must’ve gradually slipped away as he fell for Marinette.

“I didn’t notice. I thought you didn’t like them anyway.”

“I-I didn’t. I don’t.” She shrugged. “I was just curious. Maybe you had a reason for it.”

He tried to calm his beating heart as he replied, “No. Not that I’m aware of anyway.”

She nodded, a closed-off expression on her face, before she big goodbye and zipped away with her yo-yo, leaving him all alone on the rooftop.

When she had invited him over he hadn’t expected to be part of her family’s wrapping gift session. 

After hours and hours of embarrassing fails, Chat’s nails finally slid effortlessly over the wrapping paper, cutting yet again a perfect piece for the next present Marinette wanted to wrap.

He had never really wrapped a present himself - he had never really had a lot of people to offer gifts to, to begin with, and when he did, he either paid for someone to do it, or his father had put Nathalie in charge of such things, since Adrien had more to do than wrap presents. 

He had to admit he wasn’t very good at it. Marinette tried to teach him how to with a step-by-step process, but his usual cat-agility seemed to have failed him thoroughly in this specific department. 

His inner-cat was too fascinated with the red and golden strings and ribbons, and he would end up making a mess of them, much to Marinette’s amusement. Needless to say, he wasn’t finding it amusing at all if his pout was anything to judge from.

“Yeah, yeah laugh all you want,” he moped.

“Even you have to admit this is a hiss-terical situation,” Marinette commented through a fit of laughter.

“Was that a pun?” His eyes lit up.

“Purr-haps. Thought I should give you at least a win, seeing as you’ve got your hands tied. Litter-ally.”

Two puns in a row? Wow, he must’ve really made a fool of himself if she felt the need to succumb to puns. He wouldn’t give her the _satisfaction_.

“Those were a-paw-ling anyway. Now, will you put me out of my mew-sery?” He asked as he showed her his tied wrists. 

At least glitter and gold were in vogue.

His predicament with the ribbons forced Marinette to put him in charge of the tape instead.

It turned out to be even worse. 

The tape would get stuck to his elbows, or his arms, or his cat ears, to the point where one of them was laid flat against his golden hair. He had tried not to yowl as the young woman had carefully peeled it away. As she saved him from the murderous tape, she tried not to laugh so he wouldn’t be upset, but he could see the mirth in her eyes, and the smile that threatened to break through. If he wasn’t so embarrassed by the fact he had made a complete idiot of himself in front of the woman he loved and her parents, he might’ve laughed too.

As he sulked on the chair at being unable to do even the simplest tasks, Marinette scrunched her nose while looking around the table, in much the same way Ladybug did when she was trying to figure out what to do with a tricky lucky charm. 

She must’ve been figuring out a way for Chat to help without making a mess. He saw her eyes lit up, and he knew she had it!

“You can help cut the wrapping paper! Your claws would be perfect for the job. I’ll just make sure to keep you as far away from the tape and the ribbons as paw-ssible.”

He narrowed his feline eyes at her, but deep down he was happy she had found a place for him around the table. And the fact that she was making puns was even better.

He cut the wrapping paper, Sabine wrapped, Tom taped, and Marinette would write the recipient’s name and draw little customised doodles.

And that’s how they spent their afternoon, wrapping presents as they listened to Christmas songs and chatted animatedly. No pun intended. 

For a moment he was even allowed to forget he would be spending Christmas by himself once again - all alone in that huge mansion that he was already dreading getting back to.

Sabine’s voice pulled him out of his reverie, “Can you help Marinette carry the presents to the living room and place them under the tree?”

“Of course.” He looked around when he realised Marinette was no longer sitting next to him, and found her halfway across the room, carrying so many presents in one go, she couldn’t even see where she was going. She was walking straight into the wall. He acted before he even had time to think it through.

He grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her in her tracks, and quickly removed as many presents from her arms as he could without hearing a protest from her. 

“Hey, I got that!” She complained.

“Are you paw-sitive about that?” He teased her, removing the biggest gift from her arms, finally revealing the wall she practically walked into. She conceded with a huff, “Thank you I guess, oh noble knight in black leather.”

“Oh you’re most welcome, my fair Princess,” he replied with a shit-eating grin.

Marinette offered him a fake smile before she sprinted into a run towards the tree, “I’ll reach it before you do.”

“Oh no you won’t”, he shouted after her, quickly gaining on her with his super speed.

“Is everything a competition between you two?” They both heard Tom ask from the kitchen.

“YES!” They replied in unison still in a mad rush to get to their self-imposed finish line.

Finally, something the two of them could agree on.

“Just don’t break anything,” Sabine warned in a motherly voice.

Chat managed to reach the tree before Marinette and quickly placed all of his presents under the tree.

“That’s not fair! You used your superpowers,” She whined.

“Well, maybe next time you’ll know not to challenge a superhero to a race.”

Having lost, Marinette walked the rest of the way and slowly laid the gifts she had been carrying next to his own. As he followed the movement he saw a neatly wrapped present he hadn’t noticed before. 

He picked it up. There was no name on it.

“Is this my present? It’s not very inconspicuous to hide it under the tree, is it?” The hero teased, shaking the package in his two hands, as it was too big a box to hold with only one. It produced no sound as he shook it.

“Well you still don’t know what it is, so does it really matter where I hide it?” 

His smile fell at her words, “W-wait i-is this really my present?”

“Yeah, it is.” She replied matter-of-factly.

He blinked once, twice. He hadn’t expected her to get him anything. He was getting her something, of course, but that was because she had done so much for him and she deserved that and so much more. 

He was feeling pressured. What if the idea he had for her present wasn’t good enough? What if he didn’t know her well enough at all? The only other person he had really exchanged gifts with as Chat Noir was Ladybug and those always had to be something small and impersonal, so they wouldn’t figure out each other’s identities. So this was uncharted territory.

“But you have to wait until Christmas to open it.” Marinette reminded him as she shuffled next to him and removed the present from his hands. 

He watched her place his gift back under the tree, noticing her hair getting stuck in one of the branches.

“Wait, let me.” Chat laid a gentle hand over her head before she hurt herself by trying to pull on her hair.

“I really am unlucky,” she sighed, letting him free her.

“You’re talking to the embodiment of back luck here.” He chuckled.

“Can’t argue with that,” Marinette said with a giggle.

His claws worked fast around the beautiful ebony silky strands and she was freed in no time. 

It was only too late he realised how close he’d gotten to her. It was only too late he noticed the mistletoe hanging on the tree over both of them.

He cursed lightly. 

Marinette’s eyebrows furrowed until she followed his gaze and noticed the hateful little plant.

Her parents had walked into the living room at some point and were staring at the two of them with a glittering grin. 

Chat felt himself blush. 

He would kiss Marinette. He would love to kiss Marinette if, one, she wanted to, and two, he didn’t have an audience. 

Marinette’s cheeks matched his - the picture of embarrassment - and for a moment he thought she was about to run out of the room. He really should know her better by now. Marinette never backed down from a challenge, but she would also certainly not let someone else win.

She pulled the bell at his throat unexpectedly, giving it a good yank that placed his mouth dangerously close to hers. 

His eyes widening in surprise was his only reaction, because really how else was he supposed to react when the woman he loved grabbed him by the bell and forcefully pulled her to him? There was no other way to react than by letting her take control and enjoy whatever the ride brought. After all, he was strong, but he wasn’t made of stone.

Her lips crashed into his cheek, not his mouth like he had initially thought they might. Well, as he had hoped they might. He felt the wet warmth for a split second before she pulled away, breaking the moment before he even realised it had happened. Talk about luck…

“So now the kiss is out of the day, let’s talk. You want to play a game? Let’s play a game.” Marinette challenged her parents in a voice that left little room for arguments.

“We don’t know what you’re talking about, but you know your mother and I are always up for a challenge,” Tom commented with a small smile as he crossed his arms in front of him.

The young woman reached for the mistletoe ripping it from the tree and hanging it in front of her, showing it to her parents.

“Chat Noir and I have got the mistletoe now.”

“Yes, we can see it.” The words were said nonchalantly with a shrug of a shoulder from the short woman.

Marinette cocked a hip to the side with a determined expression on her face. Chat had to admit that for a split second he was scared of her. What was she planning? 

He got up from his spot on the floor and cleaned imaginary dust off his suit as he joined his friend. Whatever it was they were doing it together it seemed. He might as well buckle up.

“We’re keeping it.”

“I guess we’ll just have to get it from you.”

“If you can…”

The tension in the air was palpable.

“You hang on to the mistletoe for now, because… It’s your turn. The ball is in your field,” Tom stated calmly, but the glint in his eye revealed just how much he was enjoying the challenge.

“I see where this is going. We’ll need some ground rules.”

Damn, were they a competitive family…

Marinette’s eyes shone with excitement, and Chat Noir couldn’t help the thrill that coursed through his body at being given a challenge.

Sabine’s voice rang with clarity through the air, as if she truly were announcing the official rules of an Olympian challenge. “You can’t throw it away, if you do, we’ll just buy more. You also have to hide it inside this house. No loopholes.”

Marinette nodded, agreeing to the first set of rules, so the two parents continued.

“If your mother and I find it, we’ll set it up in the house for the two of you. There’s no going around it this time. If you are both under it, you have to kiss. After that, you can hide it again and the game will continue. If we catch you trying to hide it, we’ll just immediately take it from you without you even getting a chance to keep it from us.”

“Are those all the rules?” Marinette asked.

Her parents shrugged their shoulders, “I believe so, unless you’d like to add some more.”

Marinette looked at Chat and he nodded. He agreed they definitely needed some more rules. Rules that would work in their favour. 

“The game ends on Christmas Eve at midnight, not a minute sooner, not a minute later. Whoever has the mistletoe loses. If one of us sees you setting up the mistletoe, you’ll lose it too and it’ll be our turn to hide it.” The young woman said with determination before looking at him, “Anything you’d like to add, kitty?”

The nicknames weren’t new and her parents were most certainly aware of them, but in light of the recent events, they seemed way too intimate. Way too revealing. Way too meaningful. Her parents seemed to have figured out he had feelings for Marinette and he felt very naked. 

Chat pondered for a few minutes, but there wasn’t really anything he could think of off the top of his head. 

“Sounds good to me. Just one thing left to decide… What does the winner get?”

Marinette looked at her parents with a raised eyebrow, giving them permission to state their prize first.

“We will tell you what we want from you individually.”

“Now? What if one of us doesn’t agree?”

“If you don’t agree, there’s no deal. Besides, it shouldn’t really be a problem if you’re both so certain you’re going to win.”

“One of us is a superhero. The advantage is clearly on our side.” Marinette stated before looking at him asking for permission to accept, he nodded once “You’re on.” 

Tom and Sabine shared a knowing look that was for some reason very scary… They knew more than they were letting on. Maybe this was a bad idea after all.

“What’s your prize?” Tom asked.

“You’ll leave us alone. No more mistletoe, and no more weird whispers when we leave the room.”

So Marinette had noticed them too… She wondered if she had figured out they did it because of his feelings for her. If she did, he might die on the spot.

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

“Fine. We accept. Let the mistletoe games begin.” The two of them said with a grin.

Tom and Sabine had Marinette and Chat Noir right where they wanted them.

First and foremost, the two of them thought they had been the ones to come up with the idea for the challenge when really, the two parents had most certainly pushed them to it. Secondly, it didn’t really matter who won in the end, because if everything went according to their plan, which they would ensure it did… Marinette and Chat Noir would be dating by the end of it - either as winners or losers. 

As for Tom and Sabine? They had nothing to lose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> join an amazing community on [Miraculous Fanworks Discourse](https://discord.com/invite/5QYQHWpK)


	4. Let the games begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _As time passed Chat finally realized their position. They were so impossibly close with his finger still over her lips. Her breath tickled and teased him, making his heartbeat beat loudly and echo around in the cramped space. He could only hope she didn’t hear it._
> 
> _He removed his finger slowly as he tried to swallow away the dryness in his throat to no avail. His throat only bobbed with the effort, especially when Marinette’s tongue darted out to wet her lips. ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm back with chapter 4, almost at the end of this little ficlet. Thank you for sticking with me and I hope you enjoy this one
> 
> I want to thank [@cherrybomb_marichat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrybomb_marichat/pseuds/cherrybomb_marichat) and @Cloudy_Cookie for beta reading this chapter 
> 
> Find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/darthnoire) and [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/darthnoire)

Even though deep down he was still sad and disappointed in his father for abandoning him yet again on Christmas, it seemed, in the end, Gabriel’s absence worked in his favour.

Gorilla didn’t care what Adrien was up to, nor did he check on him as did his father’s assistant, which meant he could easily sneak out for hours and hours as Chat Noir. 

And so he did. To visit a certain raven-haired young woman and her parents.

Things had gotten particularly intense at her house in the last few days. There was tension in the air, so thick it was almost palpable. 

The mistletoe challenge had begun, and if he had to be honest with himself, he had certainly underestimated Tom and Sabine, because they were good. They were tremendously good. Regret slowly took root in his heart, as doubt crept in his mind. Perhaps they had been too hasty when they believed they could win this easily. He could see Marinette felt the same by the way she bit her lower lip. 

Chat and Marinette had hidden the mistletoe in one of the boxes of Christmas decorations they had used a couple of weeks ago. The two of them had quietly made their way into the attic and picked a random cardboard box to place the plant in. 

They then hid the box in the far corner of the room, behind other dusty boxes and objects that had been long forgotten. Even if her parents figured out they had hidden the mistletoe in the attic inside one of the boxes, it would take them at least a whole day to go through all of them thoroughly. 

Chat and Marinette had both smiled mischievously at each other once their job was done, and decided to spend the whole day playing video games in her bedroom to celebrate their sure victory.

Needless to say, things didn’t go according to plan for the two young people. 

It only took Tom and Sabine half a day to find the mistletoe. And when they did, they certainly gloated about it.

Marinette had released a cry of frustration when her parents waved the cursed little plant with huge smiles on their faces. Chat had to admit that at that moment, things had become dangerously personal to him. He was a superhero for kwami’s sake! And he was not about to let Marinette’s parents beat him.

What they thought would be a relaxing day, became one of his worst nightmares. Every noise made him jump and sweat profusely. Every creak put him on high alert. But if he thought faint noises were bad, nothing beat the silence that took over in the evening. 

The silence hung in the air like a promise, making his cat ears twitch nervously and impatiently. 

The hero wasn’t the only one who could feel it. Marinette, next to him, kept bouncing her leg nervously, as she stared blankly at the TV displaying the score screen of the game they had been playing online. It was the lowest score they had ever accomplished. It was shameful really, and he would be more upset about it if his mind wasn’t otherwise already occupied with other matters.

He knew his jitters and fear regarding mistletoe and the challenge were irrational, or at least blown out of proportion, for lack of a better explanation, but he couldn’t help them. Because deep down he realized it was no longer just about the mistletoe, nor the challenge, but rather what the whole situation entailed. Part of him wanted to just say a big “screw it” and face the consequences - he would kiss Marinette and end the whole thing, but the other side of him kept reminding him of how that was a terrible idea. 

If he kissed her there would be no coming back. He would have to face the consequences of his actions and potentially even come clean about his true feelings. And he was certain he couldn’t do that. Not without putting at risk something he valued more than life itself. Not without jeopardizing their friendship. 

On the other hand… What if she felt the same way? What if he kissed her and she kissed him back? What if his feelings were reciprocated? That would make it all worth it, surely. But wouldn’t it also be a lie? Wouldn’t they have started it all wrong? Kissing because they had to? It didn’t seem right.

And so, he found himself at an impasse. 

In his mind, the best thing he could do was just get the challenge over with and while he’s at it, do his best to keep himself and Marinette away from the mistletoe. Good thing they only had a week left until Christmas. They only had to last a week and then it would all be over.

Her parents called them for dinner and the two young people left her bedroom slowly and carefully, looking for the mistletoe in every corner, ensuring they wouldn’t accidentally step under it.

Their eyes moved around each room thoroughly. They were a good team, and they quickly spotted the darn plant high up on the stairs’ landing wall. 

Chat used his baton to reach the mistletoe, taking care not to step under it, while Marinette stepped as further away from it as possible. 

Both her parents stared at the two of them with amused smiles on their faces. Marinette scowled at them and stuck her tongue out. Chat couldn’t help but shake his head in exasperation and amusement.

With the mistletoe once again secure in their hands, Marinette and Chat Noir managed to enjoy a peaceful dinner, the tension of before long gone.

But their security wouldn’t last for long, and soon after her parents had the mistletoe back in their possession. The days passed like this, Marinette and Chat would grab hold of the mistletoe once again, just to have Tom and Sabine stealing it right from under them. 

The hero and the young woman luckily managed to always evade the treacherous little plant, but it was still a mystery how her parents always managed to place the mistletoe so high up. They either carried the ladder around with them, or they had some secret super power they were withholding from the two young people. Whatever it was… Marinette and Chat Noir managed to beat them each time, and finally, they got hold of it just on the 23rd December, with one day to spare on their little challenge. They were so so close. They could do this.

Marinette held on to the mistletoe for the night, the two young people agreeing it would be better to find a place for it the next day while her parents were working in the bakery. Chat bid goodnight and jumped away, looking forward to a restful night's sleep.

As soon as Chat arrived the next day, they started scheming and thinking of the perfect place to keep the mistletoe, somewhere where her parents surely wouldn’t think to look.

“What if we wrapped it as a present and placed it under the Christmas tree?” Marinette suggested as she spun around in her desk chair, bored after hours of discussing possible hiding places. 

He was not doing any better, his mood just down in the dumps as hers. His position suggested such, seeing as he was laying on her chaise lounge, body askew over the furniture.

He suddenly lifted himself from his uncomfortable position to look at her, his eyes gleaming with hope, “That’s brilliant! We can get a box, place the mistletoe inside, wrap it and write your name on it, so your parents think it’s my present for you. They won’t go near it for sure!”

“This could actually work,” She exclaimed with excitement.

“It will!” 

They set to work, and once they were done they started making their way down to the living room. They would stop from time to time to listen in, and make sure her parents were still in the bakery. The last thing they wanted to do was get caught because it meant handing the mistletoe back, and then their whole plan would be uncovered and the odds of getting hold of it before the last day were dim.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan until out of nowhere they heard Sabine’s voice in the house and her fast approaching footsteps. 

Marinette and Chat looked at each other with an expression of panic on their faces. They knew it was only a matter of time until she caught up to them. They looked around, trying to find a way to escape, somewhere they could hide. Perhaps if they rushed they could go back to her bedroom, since their path to the living was virtually blocked.

“There’s no way we’ll make it back to my bedroom in time,” Marinette stated as if she could read his mind.

That’s when he spotted the wardrobe. It would probably be a tight fit but it was better than getting caught. 

He opened the door forcefully and shoved Marinette inside, following quickly behind, and closing the door just as Sabine’s steps rounded the corner.

He placed his finger over her lips to keep her quiet when he noticed she was about to protest. The gesture had the desired effect because Marinette’s lips stilled under his touch and she remained as quiet as a mouse.

The two of them held their breath until Sabine walked past, possibly towards her bedroom, but they didn’t dare move a muscle and leave their hiding place just yet. Not when they knew she would have to return to the bakery and take the same route as before. So they remained silently inside the tight and dark closet waiting.

As time passed Chat finally realized their position. They were so impossibly close with his finger still over her lips. Her breath tickled and teased him, making his heartbeat beat loudly and echo around in the cramped space. He could only hope she didn’t hear it.

He removed his finger slowly as he tried to swallow away the dryness in his throat to no avail. His throat only bobbed with the effort, especially when Marinette’s tongue darted out to wet her lips.

Suddenly it became unbearably hot, and he was sure he couldn’t spend another minute in there with her. Chat had to get out of there, he had to get out before he did something crazy. He started pushing the door when Marinette grabbed his wrist and pushed him back. His back colliding with both the wooden of the wardrobe and the fluffy coats around them. 

It was her turn to place a finger over his mouth with a scowl on her face. His breath hitched just as he heard her mother’s footsteps once again. If he had opened the door they would have been found.

But even that thought did nothing to calm his nerves and his erratically beating heart, nor did it magically improve the temperature inside the damn cramped space. That coupled with her proximity was slowly driving him insane.

Marinette seemed to not be faring any better if her blushed cheeks were any indication. Once they heard the bakery door close behind Sabine, the two young people hastily got out of the wardrobe, practically tripping over each other in the process.

Marinette cleared her throat and he rubbed his neck awkwardly as they stared at each other.

“We should do this while the coast is clear,” Marinette suggested as she gestured around. 

Chat nodded, closing the wardrobe door and following her into the living room. 

With the mistletoe safe and sound under the tree, the two young adults managed to finally relax. They let themselves fall on the couch with a long sigh.

“It’s over.”

“I sure hope so,” he whispered in response.

They remained in companionable silence for a while, until Marinette broke it, “I was thinking maybe we could exchange gifts tomorrow, so we don’t have to wait until after Christmas, since we’ll both surely be busy with our families.”

Chat hummed, the weight of the truth bearing down on him - Marinette would certainly be busy with a family that loved her, but not him. Never him. He would be spending the day alone just like he had for as long as he could remember.

“Sounds perfect. I’ll drop by tomorrow,” Chat replied drily.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“No. Don’t lie to me. I can tell when you’re lying,” Marinette said as she scooted closer to him, placing a gentle hand on his knee.

Chat looked away, unable to bear the weight of her gaze in him, “My father is not home for Christmas.” 

The silence between them stretched indefinitely and he was forced to look at her, only to notice a scowl marring her features that contained unbridled fury. 

“He left you? He left you all alone on Christmas Day?” Marinette asked in rage. What kind of parent did that?

“It’s no big deal,” He tried to placate her, waving his arms in front of him.

“Of course it is! I can see how much it pains you. One day, when I know who he is, I’m going to pay him a visit and when I get my hands on him, he’s going to wish Hawkmoth got him instead, because no one messes with my Chat-”, she trailed off when she noticed her father had walked into the living room.

“Is it true? What I just heard?” Her father’s voice came out clipped and hard.

Was the man talking about Marinette’s threats or the fact Chat was once again all alone for Christmas? He supposed the answer was yes to both. He knew just how scary Marinette could be and how she kept her promises. He had no doubt she would do exactly as she threatened once she figured out who his father was.

Chat nodded in response to the man’s question, watching his jaw clench and unclench as the truth sank in.

“You’re spending Christmas with us.”

Chat got up from the couch in an instant, “No, sir. I wouldn’t want to impose. Please, I’ll be fine. I promis-”

“You don’t have a choice, son, it’s settled. Sabine will prepare the meal counting with your presence, and I will be baking taking into account your voracious appetite for sweet treats. Surely you wouldn’t want all that food to go to waste.” Tom said in a voice that didn’t leave much room to argue.

The hero shook his head. He knew he couldn’t win this fight. Deep down he didn’t want to anyway. This was his greatest wish - to have someone with whom to spend Christmas and the fact those someones were Marinette and her parents was the cherry on top. He couldn’t have asked for anything better. Never in his wildest dreams did he think this would ever be possible.

“I-I” Words failed him. He had no idea what to say. A ‘thank you’ didn’t quite cover it. There were no words to express the feelings of gratitude he felt, so he did the next best thing. He lunged at Tom and hugged him as tight as he could, tears gathering in the corner of his eyes.

The big man enveloped him in his arms and hugged back just as tightly, “You’ll always have a place in this home,” he whispered in Chat’s ear.

They eventually broke off their hug and Tom spoke again, “You can even spend the night. Get here early tomorrow, bring an overnight bag and we can have a proper Christmas Eve evening, with lots of films and hot chocolate, and then we’ll wake up early and open the Christmas presents in the morning.”

And so they did. Chat showed up on Christmas Eve, bright and early, carrying a bag with pyjamas, a set of clean clothes, and all his toiletries, as well as some gifts for her parents. 

Perhaps he had gone over budget a little, but Tom and Sabine deserved the world, and he wanted to give them something that proved exactly that. He had bought them some brand new equipment for their bakery, that he vaguely remembered them casually mentioning it months ago. He also remembered Marinette telling him that they couldn’t afford it, so they would have to make do with what they had. 

Well, they wouldn’t have to anymore. They could collect the new equipment whenever they wanted. It was waiting for them at the store. Chat gave them their present on that very same day, so they didn’t have to wait to book a time to collect it right after Christmas. He would later regret putting the order in his name instead of the Dupain-Chengs. 

But in the meantime, they spent a lovely Christmas Eve together, watching films, playing games, and eating all kinds of good food and sweets. 

He had never felt more at home as he did with Marinette and her family.

Marinette and him felt even better knowing the end of the challenge was approaching, and their little gift was still wrapped safely under the Christmas tree.

They could win this. They were so, so close to victory.

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

Sabine had just found out where Marinette and Chat had hidden the mistletoe and was on her way to tell Tom when she noticed his face of surprise and shock as she walked into the kitchen.

Something had happened.

She knew Tom had been calling the equipment company to book a collection slot and gave the operator on the other side of the line the order number Chat Noir had provided them.

She placed her hand on his arm, and took the phone from him, putting the device on speaker mode.

“Can you repeat, please? The connection broke”, she took over from Tom and told the operator the little white lie.

“Yes, of course. It’s in the name of Mr. Adrien Agreste, is that correct?” The person repeated.

She finally understood Tom’s reaction. 

It took Sabine a couple of seconds to recover and finally answer the poor operator.

“Yes, it is,” she managed to utter despite the shock.


	5. Everything must come to an end (but an ending can also bring a new beginning)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“It seems we’ve lost.”_
> 
> _Chat said as they both looked up at the mistletoe that hung over their heads only visible in the dark room due to the moonlight that streamed through the window. ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Chapter 5, which is mostly likely the last thing I will write this year 2020. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> I want to thank [@cherrybomb_marichat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrybomb_marichat/pseuds/cherrybomb_marichat) once again for beta reading this chapter for me
> 
> Find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/darthnoire) and [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/darthnoire)

“It seems we’ve lost.”

Chat said as they both looked up at the mistletoe that hung over their heads only visible in the dark room due to the moonlight that streamed through the window.

How her parents had managed to find the mistletoe beat him. It should’ve been impossible, and yet there it was - its threat hanging right over the heads. Literally. 

They had been so certain they were going to win. Last time they checked, their present was still under the tree. Maybe it had all been a ruse, and Tom and Sabine had somehow managed to trick them. Well, of course they had managed to trick them. The mistletoe was very clearly over the two young adults.

Marinette and Chat had underestimated them. A mistake they did not intend to make ever again.

Marinette looked somewhere behind him, “No, we didn’t. It’s 00:01. It’s already Christmas Day. The deadline was midnight of the 24th, not one minute earlier, not one minute later.”

He hadn’t realised they had gotten so dangerously close to each other. His breath made wisps of Marinette’s air blow gently.

In the last couple of days it was as if they were drawn to each other like magnets. 

Of course it was all due to the challenge. It had required them to be close in certain instances, as was the case of the wardrobe situation. It wasn’t exactly their fault, it had just happened. They needed a place to hide and that was the best they could come up with given their predicament. He hadn’t chosen to be so close to her. 

That’s what he tried to tell himself anyway.

However, in that particular moment, his brain seemed to be failing to come up with a good excuse.

“I guess we won then,” he whispered, as his body moved of its own accord, stepping even closer to Marinette.

The words had left his mouth, so why didn’t they feel real? Why was there a weight in his heart and a voice in his head that whispered they had suffered a colossal loss?

Perhaps because they had. Perhaps he had just lost his chance to ever kiss her lips. To ever know what they tasted like. 

He always imagined they would taste of strawberry and vanilla, but now he would never know.

“I should go,” he said, stepping away from Marinette, breaking his chain of thoughts before they became too unbearable. 

“You’re leaving? But I thought you were going to stay with us for Christmas Day. You were about to have your first ever sleepover,” she said as he reached for his hand, “I don’t want you to spend it alone.”

He let her lace her fingers through his. Let himself revel in the warmth and the feel of her skin against the leather of his suit.  _ Just once. Just this one time. _ He tried to convince himself.

“I can’t.” His voice broke at the same time his resolve did too.

“Why not?”

“I can’t keep doing this. Lie to you,” he turned to face her, letting go of her hand, so he gestured around.

“Do what?” She tried reaching for him again, but he took another step back.

“I’m in love with you, Marinette. I have been for a very long time and I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep lying to myself. And to you. I can’t stay tonight. I’ll just spend Christmas alone, it’s better this way.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense!” She bellowed in fury. 

Chat hadn’t expected that reaction for her, but he shouldn’t be surprised. It was proof enough she didn’t feel the same way. He had tried to spare himself from this end, but it seemed it came for him either way. 

“What doesn’t?” Despite his best intentions he could feel anger inside of him, and some of it had certainly seeped into his tone, if her reaction was anything to go by.

“You say you love me and then you leave? To spend Christmas alone? Tell me how you got to that conclusion? How does that make sense in your mind?” Marinette couldn’t keep the frustration out of her voice as she slowly approached him. This time he let her, too stunned to do anything but stay rooted in place.

He still felt like his heart was breaking in two, but he couldn’t run away from her. He wouldn’t. He had been a fool for thinking he would be able to leave in the first place. He couldn’t leave her. 

“You weren’t going home anyway. I know you. You’d rather spend the night running over the streets of Paris than to go home to that empty house. That house is not your home.” Another step closer to him. He felt her reach for his and his breath hitched when she made contact, “You’re home is here. With me.” 

Her words brought tears to his eyes. That’s all he had ever wanted - a home. With her.

“And you haven’t been the only one who’s been keeping secrets,” she whispered as she wiped a wayward tear that had escaped and ran down over his mask and his cheek.

Those words snapped him out of his own head. Her words mixed with the way she was looking at him meant something. And that something finally clicked in his brain. 

How could it have taken him so long to realise? 

Love does make one blind. 

He had been so scared of his own feelings and what they could mean for their friendship that he let them cloud his vision. He hadn’t been able to see the truth, which was staring right at him.

She felt the same way about him… She loved him. She loved them just as much as he loved her.

He knew what he had to do. 

“And what would that be, Princess?” He let his usual Chat Noir charm seep through, putting all feelings of insecurity behind. He was no longer scared and afraid. No. Not when he knew how she truly felt. 

Now all he had to do was make her confess.

With a purposeful stride and a side smirk he started walking towards her.

“I-I,” Marinette stuttered as a light blush spread over her cheeks while she backed away from him.

In that moment he truly felt like a cat chasing the mouse.

He didn’t stop chasing her until they were once again under the mistletoe - their original position.

His claws slowly traced over her hand and her arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake. She shivered under his touch and that only gave him more confidence.

“Tell me,” he coaxed her once again, his voice was as soft as his caresses, unlike his gaze, which was anything but. It burned with passion, and desire, and love. 

He saw resolution take root in her heart as she lifted her head and gazed up to meet his, and uttered the words he had been waiting for, “I love you, Chat Noir. I have for a very long time.”

She smiled then. Beautiful and bashfully.

He smiled back, but his smirk was positively bold and devilish, “Good.”

She could read him like the palm of her hand, she knew, because they moved at the same time. Their lips crashed with force as their hands landed on each other.

He had been right. She tasted of strawberries and vanilla and he was quite possibly addicted to her taste.

Chat’s hands cradled her cheeks and his claws tangled in her dark hair, while one of her hands reached for the bell at his throat and the other landed over his chest.

Their lips slid over one another in a frenzied rhythm, as if they were making up for all the lost time. All the time they had spent dancing around each other. 

The room was filled with their soft moans as the moonlight drifted over the furniture and the walls, letting the night settle over them.

The mistletoe glistened over them as they shared their kiss, almost like it had fulfilled its purpose.

He couldn’t stop his wandering hands from grabbing fistfuls of fabric as he tried to feel as much of Marinette as he could. She didn’t seem to mind, if her moans were anything to go by. 

Besides, her touch was just as fervent, as she traced all the planes of his hard back, stomach and arms all clad in leather. Her touch left him on fire.

“My princess…” he murmured against her ear.

“Yours,” she reiterated softly as if to sooth his achingly lonely soul.

_ His…  _ That thought alone fuelled him further. He deepened their kiss by tracing the seams of her lips with his tongue. He knew he had been giving permission when he felt her part them gently to him. 

He took all she gave him. No more, no less. 

“I love you,” he whispered against her lips.

“And I love you,” she murmured against the skin of his neck, which caused a shiver to spread down his spine that he was certain had branded him forever.

They eventually parted for air, and they couldn’t help but smile at each other with unabashed happiness.

Chat caressed her cheek slowly with the back of his ringed-hand, letting her lean into his touch, her eyes gently fluttering closed at the attention.

He was sure his heart was about to explode inside his chest. He had never experienced such happiness before. It couldn’t be real.

“It’s real,” Marinette whispered after placing a gentle kiss over his fingers. 

Apparently he had said the words out loud.

“You’re amazing.”

“Tell me something I don’t know, alley-cat,” she teased him with a smirk that did things to his heart.

“Am an alley-cat now?”

“Only an alley-cat would kiss like that. No respectful gentleman would have ever been so…”, she paused as if looking for the right word, while flicking her wrist. He knew she had gotten it when her eyes glimmered with mischief, “Eager.”

“Is that so?” he asked just as he picked her up suddenly, and spun them around, eliciting giggles and shrieks from the young woman, “I can promise you I am nothing but a gentleman under his suit.”

“I highly doubt that!” The last word came out drawled as he spun them particularly hard. 

Their giggles and chuckles echoed around the room.

“Put me down, before we both fall,” she asked through a fitful of laughter.

He obeyed, setting her down slowly. 

She hugged him tightly once her feet were safely back on the floor. He returned the hug just as fiercely.

In that moment he knew everything would be fine. He had found a home. He had found her.

They ended up having a pyjama party just as she promised him. 

They built a fort - no one is ever too old to build a fort - and made popcorn, and watched a crappy film, which most of the time turned into background noise as the two young people let themselves get lost in each other once again, soft lips meeting soft lips.

It was practically two in the morning when Marinette paused the film and turned to him, looking deeply into his fluorescent green eyes.

“I want to give you your Christmas present.”

“It’s not Christmas Day yet.”

“Well, technically it already is,” she raised an eyebrow with a smile.

“Alright, then I want to give you yours, too.”

She nodded, “Wait here.” Before silently disappearing down the hatch so she wouldn’t wake her parents. While she was gone, he grabbed from his sack the present he had gotten for her.

Chat sat back down, fidgeting nervously in place. What if she didn’t like it? What if she already had it? What if it was too cliché and not at all what she wanted?

He was broken out of his reverie, by her return. She closed the hatch once more and made her way back to him. 

Marinette used his thigh as a crutch, leaning all her weight onto her hand to sit back down. Damn, she had a strong grip. If he wasn’t in his suit, he was sure it would have hurt.

“I know it’s not much, but I made it myself and I really hope you like it.”

“Marinette, if you’ve made it, I already love it,” he confessed sincerely.

The small smile she offered him at hearing his words made his heart somersault in his chest.

“Here.” She extended him the gift he had found under the tree a while back.

He took from her hands and carefully peeled the wrapping paper, revealing a brown box inside.

“Hopefully one day the box will be a beautiful shiny pink and will have my initials engraved, but for now the simple brown box will have to do.”

“I promise you, Marinette, fashion houses will be falling at your feet as soon as you graduate and from then you’ll make your way to the top. You’ll get your own brand. I know it.” Chat said as he looked deep into her eyes.

Her cheeks flushed at his words and he couldn’t help the swell of pride that rose in his chest. He wanted to be the cause of that blush every time.

He returned his attention to the gift and slowly opened the lid, to reveal a black suede jacket with fur lining. It was beautifully stitched, which just proved Marinette’s skill.

“You’re always saying how sometimes you get cold when you’re at the top of the Eiffel Tower, but you love it up there and never have it in you to leave even when it’s too cold, so I made this jacket.”

Her words barely registered in his brain, since it was still trying to catch up to the fact that she was absolutely incredible and that she loved him unconditionally. She had listened to him, and his concerns and she had wanted to give him something that would help him. That had meaning.

“It’s adjustable to your suit. It still lets you clip the baton to your back and move freely. It also has a removable hood that accommodates your cat ears. I know they get cold sometime-”

Chat leaned in and kissed her. He knew she would keep rambling if he didn’t stop her. In retrospective, it was his fault. He had been so stunned he hadn’t been able to say anything to stop her from talking nervously. But he loved the jacket. It was probably one of the best gifts he had ever gotten, right after the blue scarf his father had given him years ago. So where words lacked him, he replaced them with burning kisses that left them both panting. It was also a way to prevent her from seeing how misty his eyes had gotten. 

They touched their foreheads as they caught their breaths.

“Does this mean you like the present?”

“I love it. Thank you. I have no words for it. Truly, Marinette.”

He removed the jacket completely from the package and got out of the fort so he could put it on more easily without any constrictions. 

It fit him perfectly and he could move around just as Marinette said he would. He looked at himself in her mirror and couldn’t help the smile that broke through. How could he be so lucky? How could this amazing woman love him back?

Chat couldn’t bring himself to remove the jacket so crouched back inside the fort with it on. Marinette giggled, knowing he didn’t want to take it off.

The hero grabbed his present for Marinette and handed it to her. It was small, and it hadn’t cost him anything, but he knew just how meaningful it would be to her.

He had managed to get a nice red envelope that she opened carefully as she smiled up at him with curiosity in her eyes. 

Her eyes practically bulged out of her head when she saw just what exactly she was holding.

“The-These are two VIP tickets to the fashion event of the year. All the big houses will be there and… These are impossible to get! How did you get them?”

“I have my ways,” He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows, “I can’t go around sharing details of my personal life just to have you figure out my identity, now can I?”

“You’re rich! You’re most definitely rich!” 

“Amongst other things, but yeah.”

He scratched his neck nervously. He still wasn’t sure if she liked the present or not. Her reaction wasn’t exactly what he expected.

“Do-do you like it though? I thought about going with a necklace or a bracelet, but nothing was personal enough. And then I saw these and they were perfect. Or at least I thought so. Maybe you can take Alya with you or-”

It was her turn to stop his rambling. 

She grabbed his face in both of her hands and kissed him senseless. It took him a while to return back to the surface after her earth-shattering kiss.  _ Pun very much intended.  _

“It’s the perfect present indeed, kitty. Thank you so much. I just wish I could take you with me.”

“Maybe I’ll already be there, who knows.”

She swatted his arm with more strength than he thought she possessed. 

“You’re not meant to tell me things like that.”

“Ow, sorry,” he grumbled as he rubbed his sore arm, “It won’t happen again.”

“Good.”

After the exchange of their gifts and some more kisses, who unintentionally turned into a make out session, they returned back to the film they had paused earlier. 

Marinette laid her head on his chest and curled against his side. His put his arm around her, drawing her close to him and kissing the top of her head lovingly. 

He was the happiest man alive. If the price he had to pay was his father being away for Christmas in order for him to have that moment with Marinette, he would gladly pay it a thousand times over.

They eventually fell asleep, still clothed and tangled in each other as a film still played in the background.

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

Even though it was Christmas Day and the bakery was closed, old habits die hard, and Tom and Sabine had once again woken up early. 

When they made their way down, they decided to check on the two young people.

They opened the latch silently and their eyes immediately fell on the fort made up of sheets and pillows. Marinette and the hero slept soundly inside, hands interlaced and soft smiles gracing their lips.

The two adults went down the stairs and started preparing the Christmas meal as they watched the news. It was then a red blur landed on the kitchen counter, followed by a black one.

“I did as you asked. Here’s your mistletoe back.” Tikki said with a smile.

“Thank you for all your help. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“It was my pleasure. I have to admit, Plagg is usually the one who gets involved in these kinds of plans, not me,” the red creature snickered.

“Hey! You say that like I didn’t want to be part of this! This plan was my idea, too. I was just stuck inside the ring.”

“Tough  _ luck, _ ” Tikki drawled with a chuckle while Plagg crossed his paws and pouted.

Sabine and Tom laughed at the exchange. 

Had they cheated? Perhaps. But did it really matter when in the end they still lost and Adrien and Marinette, and Chat Noir and Ladybug finally found each other? Not really. Overall, the operation was a success, so really they should celebrate, and then they would think of a way to break it to the two of them. 

Sabine placed a plate of warm cookies in front of Tikki and some Camembert in front of Plagg. It was part of their agreement after all. The two creatures smiled widely at their treats and wasted no time in digging in.

“What are you going to do about him?” Tikki asked through a mouthful of cookies as she pointed at the TV.

The headline read,  _ Gabriel Agreste returns home early from a big fashion event in Milan. _

Tom shrugged one shoulder, “I guess the truth. That Adrien is home. He belongs with us.”

As if on cue the front door’s bell rang, “I suppose this is it. Better wake up the two sleepy heads.”

“We’re on it.” Plagg and Tikki replied in unison before dashing to Marinette’s bedroom.

“How do you think they’ll take it? Finding out each other’s identities?”

_ “Chaton?” “M’lady?”  _ Came two different shrieks from upstairs.

Sabine and Tom chuckled, “Eh, they’ll be alright,” they said in unison, before opening the door to face Gabriel Agreste himself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love the idea of Tom and Sabine figuring out their identities, I can't help it.   
> Hope you loved reading this as much as I enjoyed writing.
> 
> Until next time 🤍
> 
> Find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/darthnoire) and [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/darthnoire)


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